ToS: An Altered Path
by Lloyd Irving Aurion
Summary: Sheloyd and Kranna possible Gesea. AU fic depicting what might have been with the survival of Anna. Please see bio for full summary
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Some of you probably remember this fic. Or at least, I hope some of you do. This fic was removed by the site for breaking guidelines. I hope, however, that I have removed any 'illegal' material from this fic. So, let's try again and hopefully it will stay up this time. Oh, and the 'alterations' -hence the title- are in my bio, thanks.

Disclaimer: Why do we even have to put these here? It's not like any of us actually own the rights to these things. And if we did, do you really think we would be writing fanfics? But, some people have sticks stuck up their $$#$ and so these must be included…sigh. I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco does (lucky bastards); I am making no profit from this. Save for the simple happiness I get from writing this and reading (hopefully) good reviews. And please note that this disclaimer counts for all chapters and if you want to read this that badly, you can read it before you change the chapter. Thank You.

* * *

"Are you ready Anna? It's almost time to be on our way," stated Kratos as he finished packing the necessary medicine and food that would be needed for their yearly trip.

"I'll be ready _humph_ as soon as I _humph_ manage to get _humph_ this stupid _humph_ suitcase _humph_ closed…" replied his wife, who had apparently tried to fit too much into a single suitcase.

Shaking his head and chuckling under his breath, the red-haired swordsman walked the short distance down the hall to the bedroom they shared. Leaning against the doorway, a bemused expression settled across his face as he watched his now disheveled wife continue to try, in vain, to close the much too full suitcase.

Watching her try several more times, Kratos decided that it would be in the best interest of the suitcase to calm his wife down, before she threw it across the room. Leaving his station at the door, he walked up directly behind Anna and stopped only when their bodies were pressed together.

Feeling the contact, Anna instinctively settled back against his hard, muscular chest. Staying in that position for several moments, Anna eventually turned in her husband's embrace and buried her face into his chest. They stayed in that position for several minutes, and would most likely have stayed longer had the front door not opened and closed.

Looking up at her husband, though not leaving his embrace, Anna's eyes silently pleaded for the help he would offer in getting the suitcase to close.

Smiling down at the woman in his arms, Kratos released her from his arms before opening the suitcase to see what could be taken out. Noticing the cause of the problem almost immediately, Kratos lifted the small sculpture of their son from case. Turning to his wife, Kratos silently arched an eyebrow in question.

Blushing slightly, Anna answered. "I wanted to take it with us."

Giving his wife a loving, if not somewhat chiding, look, Kratos walked over to their vanity and replaced the statue that Dirk had given to Anna as a birthday present earlier in that year. Going back to the suitcase, Kratos easily closed it and hoisted it up.

"Finish," he whispered softly, gently kissing her on the forehead before walking out of the bedroom.

Sighing quietly, Anna straightened and smoothed out her dress before going to work on her hair; all the while ignoring the subtle feeling that something was going to happen.

…

"Hey dad," greeted Lloyd as his father walked into the den. "Almost ready to go?"

"As soon as your mother finishes getting ready, we will be leaving," he replied, setting the suitcase down next to the door.

"Hope you guys have fun," he told him. "Professor Raine wants to see me for some weird reason, so I came in to say bye."

"Knowing that woman, she probably wants to use you as some sort of example," Kratos said, chuckling.

"Probably so," Lloyd laughed. "Anyway, I'm going to go say bye to mom, and then head on over to the classroom."

"Very well son," he said, moving in to give him a hug. "Just try and make sure you stay out of trouble."

"I'll try, but that's about all I can do. You know how trouble seems to follow me everywhere I go," Lloyd retorted.

"sigh Get going Lloyd, I don't want to have to postpone our trip because Raine smacked you into a coma for being late."

Shaking his head, Lloyd walked down the hall to his parent's room so that he could say goodbye to his mother.

"Hey mom," he said gently as he entered the room.

"Hello Lloyd," replied Anna. "Here to see us off?"

"Wish I could," he told her solemnly. "But the Professor wants to see me for some reason, so I'm here to say bye."

"Well then, don't just stand there, come here and give me a hug," she chided softly.

Smiling, Lloyd closed the small distance between them and wrapped his arms around his mother, fighting back the tears that would only come with her departure.

"I'm going to miss you, mom" he whispered sadly, slightly tightening his embrace around her.

"I'll miss you too, dear," she whispered back.

Resting in the others embrace for several more moments, Anna finally pulled back though still keeping her hands on his waist.

"Be good for Dirk, all right," she ordered softly.

"I will," he agreed.

"You'd better go see what Raine wants," she told him. "It probably wouldn't be smart to keep her waiting long."

"She'll understand, but if I don't leave then you may not finish getting ready," he joked, moving completely out of the embrace and walking to the door.

"I love you mom," he said, stopping at the door, his tone gentle, yet serious.

"I love you, too, Lloyd," she replied, watching as he smiled and walked out of her line of vision. Sighing sadly, she turned back to face the mirror and finish her hair. 'That is always the hardest part of this,' she thought to herself. 'Leaving my little boy here, without me here to look after him.'

Leaving his home, Lloyd began walking to the other side of Iselia, where the school was located. After several minutes of walking, Lloyd finally made his way to the school. Opening the door, Lloyd stepped inside and made his way to the only room in the building.

Seeing that the Professor was in the middle of one of her lectures, Lloyd decided that it would be in the best interests of his health to wait until she was finished, and not interrupt. Sitting down against the wall just inside the door, Lloyd began listening to her lecture about the Desians and why they were here.

From the corner of her eye, Raine watched Lloyd enter her class. Half-expecting him to announce his presence, she was somewhat pleased to see him sit down against the wall and begin to listen attentively to what she was saying. Deciding not to address him just yet, she continued her lecture for another half-hour.

"Class," said Raine after she finished her lecture. "I want you all to take a short recess while I attend to some business that needs my attention."

As expected, she heard no complaints from the students. Motioning for Lloyd to come over to her, she watched as he stood up and walked over to her.

"So Professor, what did you want to see me about?" he asked, curious to her answer.

Looking away from him and to her class, she said. "Not in here, let us talk outside."

Not wanting to argue with the moody teacher, Lloyd obediently followed her out of the school.

"I want to apologize first, I know that your parents are leaving on their trip today and I am sorry if I have pulled you from seeing them off," she told him as soon as he closed the door to the school.

"Don't worry about it, it's actually harder to say goodbye as they're leaving anyways," he replied casually.

"Well, at any rate, I'm sorry. But I'm afraid that is why I need to speak with you," she said, ready to get to the point of her calling him.

"What do you mean Professor?" he asked, somewhat confused.

"The Temple Priests, as well as myself, fell that the Oracle will arrive sometime very soon, maybe even today. You know what that means don't you?" she asked him.

"It means that Collette will be called as the next Chosen," he answered simply.

"That's correct, but in order for that to happen, she must pass the trial."

"Huh, trial? I've never heard anyone say anything about any _trial_."

"That's because it is something that is rarely spoken about outside the temple. But suffice to say, that it can be rather dangerous. And also, the priests are not so young anymore. They might not be able to provide Collette the protection she will require to succeed."

"I see, so the priests were originally planning on having Dad go with Collette, but since he's leaving today, you want me to take his place," he said simply.

"That's correct Lloyd, but I'm afraid that there will be certain rules that must be adhered to once inside. You will need to go to the Temple immediately and learn what those are," she told him, a small hint of urgency creeping into her voice.

"I gotcha, I'll head over there right now and I'll be there all night learning those rules if I have to. I'm not about to let anything happen to Collette," he said to her, hoping to allay the anxiety he was feeling from her.

"I needn't remind you of the dire situation that Sylvarant is in, Collette's journey must succeed. If she doesn't, it might be too late for Sylvarant by the time the next Chosen is called," she replied.

Nodding his head at the graveness of her statement, Lloyd turned and began the hike to the Temple of Martel.

…

Finally finishing fixing her hair, Anna walked into the main hallway where she saw her husband waiting with the in one hand and the other supplies slung over his shoulder. With his Flameberge hanging at his waist, and the Arredoval setting on his left wrist, it was quite obvious that he was more that ready to leave.

"In a hurry dear?" she questioned, one eyebrow arching higher than the other.

"Yes," he answered, his face taking on a grim appearance. "I feel as though something is going to happen soon and I want to be here to make sure Lloyd and the others are safe."

"You worry too much, Kratos," Anna said gently, walking up to her husband and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You know that Lloyd will be able to take care of himself and the others. You haven't spent the last fourteen years training him for nothing. He's almost as strong as you are. He'll be fine."

"You're probably right, as usual," he said, giving her a warm smile.

"Of course I am," she replied teasingly. "Aren't I always?"

Deciding not to answer, Kratos leaned down and gave his wife a tender kiss. The kiss, though not passionate, managed to show just how much love was shared between the two. Pulling away after what seemed like an eternity, they allowed themselves a few moments to bask in the love radiating from the other's gaze.

"Come on," said Kratos, breaking the complacent silence of the room. "It would be best not to keep Mithos waiting."

"Oh, all right," she agreed, pouting cutely.

Restraining himself from kissing her again, Kratos removed himself from her arms and gently pushed on the small of her back, indicating that she should go first. Once outside the house, Kratos locked the door and whistled for Noishe. Watching as the ancient life form came to a stop in front of the, Kratos set the suitcase and carefully lifted Anna onto its back. Once Anna was situated, Kratos handed her the supply bag and motioned for Noishe to pick up the suitcase. Once Noishe had the suitcase handle firmly between his jaws, they began their trip which would eventually take them to Derris Kharlan. But in order to get there, they would have to reach the nearest Cruxis facility, namely the Triet Human Ranch. From there they would be able to contact Mithos and be transported to Derris Kharlan by means of the Eternal Sword.

"I wonder if anything new has happened since we last saw Mithos?" asked Anna once they were safely outside of Iselia.

"I don't know, I am personally more interested in how much longer it will be before an Angel is sent to begin Collette's transformation," he stated wearingly.

"You're positive that Collette can be saved just by attaching a Key Crest to her Cruxis Crystal right," questioned Anna, worried for the girl she had come to see as her daughter.

"Yes Anna, I am sure," he answered, chuckling at his wife's unwarranted worries. "I will allow her to complete the ritual, shift the mana flow, and place a Key Crest on her crystal. After that it will be as though nothing has changed, with the exception of her maintaining her Angelic abilities."

"I'm glad," she whispered quietly. "So, have you decided on whether or not you take Lloyd with you when Collette's journey begins?"

"Yes, I think I will. Besides, you know Lloyd, he would just follow on his own if I told him no," he told her, amused at his son's sometimes blatant disregard of orders.

Laughing at the mental images that her husband's words produced, Anna began to prepare herself for the pain and worry that would come when the inevitable finally happened. She was shaken out of her reverie, however, by the wolf that was unfortunate enough to leap out at them.

"They never learn," she heard her husband say as he stepped in front of them and drew his fiery blade. The wolf, having no comprehension of who it was dealing with, leapt at the figure standing before it. The fight was essentially over before it even started as, while the creature was still in mid-air Kratos attacked it with a Super Lightning Blade impaling it through the beast's throat before the mix of lightening and wind sent it flying backwards, effectively stopping any blood from tarnishing his clothing.

Pulling a cloth from his belt, Kratos wiped the animal's blood from his sword. Once he was satisfied that the blade held no more blood, he replaced both the cloth and the sword.

"Well, that was a waste of time," he said to no one in particular, highly annoyed at the interruption. "Let's continue on."

On Derris Kharlan…

"Soon dear sister, soon your new vessel will be ready. Tomorrow Remiel will be sent to the temple and the girl will begin her transformation," whispered Yggdrasill Mithos, as he stood staring at the lifeless body of his sister Martel.

"Lord Yggdrasill," entreated a somewhat hesitant voice.

"Yes, what is it," he demanded, not happy that his musings had been interrupted.

"Lord Kratos and his wife are on their way to the Triet Ranch, my lord," said the voice.

"I see, thank you, you may leave now Pronyma," he stated, not even bothering to look at the voice's owner.

"As you wish," she said obediently before leaving just as quickly as she had come.

"I hope you can forgive me for what I am about to do, my dear friends. But Martel will be awakened," he whispered, once he was sure that he had no other company. "I can only hope that this does not cause them to hate me," he added, before leaving the room to put the final touches on his plan to revive his sister.

* * *

A/N: Ehh…That didn't turn out very good, at least not in my opinion. Anyway, be kind, the next chapter will be _much_ better, I promise. Just a little preview of events for you; Lloyd meets Sheena at the Martel Temple, Kratos and Anna reach Derris Kharlan, Mithos' plan gets set into motion, and Genis gets smacked by Raine…okay, so maybe that last one might not happen. Just so you know, I only have the vaguest outline of where I am going with this, which means that I am mostly writing it as I go. An example of that would be when Lloyd meets Sheena. My original plan had been for it to happen at the same time as it did in the game, but then I got to wondering about why Sheena didn't go to the temple to assassinate Collette in the first place, so I decided to change the meeting point. Hell, who am I kidding, there probably isn't going to be any assassination attempt at all. But don't worry, I have no intention of rushing head-long into immediate Sheloyd romance, unless that is what you guys want; if you do, please say so and I will oblige. Thanks for reading, and please review. 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Well, here is chapter 2. I hope that you enjoy it.

* * *

The mile long walk to the Temple had so far been exceptionally quiet. Lloyd had only been attacked one time, and that had been by an abnormal sized skull before he even left the village gate. Having walked the areas outside of Iselia several times before, Lloyd knew quite well how many monsters to expect as he made his way to the temple. Surprisingly though, Lloyd had not seen any.

"What the hell…" Lloyd wondered aloud. "Shouldn't there be at least a few monsters around here? It's almost like there is something that has scared them all away."

Walking about a hundred more yards, Lloyd's ears picked up on the sound of a battle. 'Sounds pretty intense, I'd better check it out,' he told himself. Picking up his pace Lloyd began running as quickly as his legs would carry him. He was slowed some yards later by having to climb a rather large hill. He also didn't realize just how close to the battle he was until he reached the top of the hill. What he saw made his blood run cold. At the bottom of the hill was a young woman about his age dressed in a large purple, sleeveless robe, skin tight black pants, purple gloves/sleeves that extended up to the middle of her upper arms and a wearing a large pink sash tied in a bow around her waist. That wasn't what had him frightened though, it was what she was fighting. In front of the woman was a gigantic four-armed skeleton wielding a massive sword in each hand, and it was radiating an evil aura. It was also screaming of untapped power. Turning his attention back to the woman, he noticed that she seemed to be holding her own with those weird cards she was using, but he was unsure of how long that would last. Deciding that now was definitely not the time to be admiring her fighting style Lloyd drew the blades that his father had given him two years ago after his return from wherever it is they went every year, and rushed down to give the woman his assistance.

'How the hell do I keep getting myself into these things?' the young woman asked herself as she dodged the demon's flurry of sword swipes, retaliating with her own attacks. 'I'm barely even damaging this thing! If I don't find a way out of this soon, I'm going to be in trouble….'

"Ahhh…" she screamed out, pain lancing through her body as the demonic creature caught her with the flat of one of its blades, sending her flying through the air. "Ungh," she let out the piercing wail as her body slammed into the hard ground. Struggling to get to her feet proved to be futile as the impact had left her dizzy and disoriented. She was able only to watch as the unknown enemy prepared to issue the final strike. Fully expecting to meet her end at the hands of this beast, she was shocked when a rage filled voice broke through the battlefield.

"_GET AWAY FROM HER_," Lloyd shouted, an inexplicable rage filling him at the thought of this creature stealing the woman's life. Leaping into the fray before the demon could identify the new threat; Lloyd launched himself into the air and attacked the enemy's exposed back. Twisting while in mid-air, Lloyd spun like a top delivering several powerful blows to its spine. Landing on the same part that he had just attacked as the demonic skeleton hunched forward from the pain, he ran up to its head. Jumping back into the air once on top of its head, Lloyd did a 180° twist and flip, readying himself for the sword-first dive into the thing's skull.

The young woman watched in awe as the young man who was in the process of saving her perform what would surely be a killing blow to whatever this thing is. The sound that was made from the beasts shattering skull was almost sickening, as was seeing the thing's black blood spew out with the swordsman as he exited through the bottom of the demon's mouth. Miraculously though, the swordsman didn't seem to have any blood coating him, almost as though there was some sort of mystic barrier preventing it from settling on him. Her awe soon turned to panic though as she realized that the thing was going to collapse directly on top of her.

Knowing what would happen even before his attack was executed; Lloyd quickly sheathed both his swords and did another twist in mid-air to bring him facing the direction of the immobile woman. Landing in a roll, Lloyd was almost immediately on his feet. Rushing to the woman, he quickly gathered her in his arms and dove out of the way only seconds before the beaten demon crashed down right where they had been. Coming out of the dive in a crouch facing the thing, Lloyd and the young woman were able to catch the words it spoke.

"…stronger…fight…again…" whispered the skeleton, its voice dark and foreboding sending chills down both of their bodies. Then, as if being pulled into another realm, the creature slowly faded away.

Shocked at what they had just witnessed, neither person moved for several seconds. Finally, Lloyd broke out of his stupor and spoke.

"Well, you certainly don't see something like that everyday," he said, racking his brain to try and figure out where the thing had disappeared to.

"No, you don't," she agreed. "At least, not where I come from," she stated as an afterthought.

"I wonder what it meant by it's words?" he asked aloud, another mystery replacing the one that he had decided to ask the Professor about.

"My guess would be that we haven't seen the last of that thing yet," she replied, giving him her thoughts.

"You're probably right miss…" he said, finally taking his eyes from the spot where the thing had fallen, only to find his breath stolen from him as he got his first good look at who he held in his arms. 'Beautiful…' he heard his mind say.

"Oh, sorry; it's Sheena, Sheena Fujibayashi. And you are…" she asked, stopping mid sentence as she looked up at him, only to find herself quickly lost in his soulful brown eyes.

Neither one knew how long they stared at each other, nor did they care. Finally though, Lloyd's mind processed what she had said.

"Yeah, right; I'm Lloyd Aurion. It's a pleasure to meet you Sheena," he answered, a warm smile spreading across his face, his mind unable to believe how comfortable he felt like this.

"Likewise," she said, her own soft smile finding its way onto her face. She, too, was amazed at how…right…it felt.

"Can you stand?" Lloyd asked her gently.

"I'm not sure," she answered hesitantly. "But there is only one way to find out, right."

Nodding once in agreement, Lloyd slowly stood up and gently placed Sheena on her feet. Steadying her by placing his hands on her waist, Lloyd did not fully release her until he was positive that she would not fall over.

"Well, at least you can stand," he said to her. "Care to try walking?"

Taking a single step forward, Sheena immediately regretted it as a new wave of pain struck. Falling forward, she was quickly caught in the safety of Lloyd's arms.

"Easy there, I got you," he whispered as she clutched her side in a vain attempt to dull the pain.

"Dammit," she cursed, bringing an amused smile to Lloyd' face. "I think some of my ribs are broken."

"Then we'd better get you to the temple," Lloyd told her, his voice becoming firm, leaving no room for argument. "Here, get on my back. I'll carry you," he ordered, turning slowly so that she would not lose her balance.

"Guess I don't have a choice," she muttered, wrapping her arms around his neck as he placed his hands under her thighs and slowly picked her up.

"Now let's just hope that no monsters decide to attack us," Lloyd said as he began walking in the direction of the temple.

"No worries, got that covered," she replied smirking. "Corrine!"

Before Lloyd had the chance to ask what she meant by that, he saw a large puff of smoke appear beside him. Somewhat wary of what this could be, he completely deadpanned whenever the smoke cleared. Standing beside him, was what appeared to be a small fox-like creature with three fluffy green tails.

"Uh, Sheena?" he asked, completely confused at this new creature.

"Lloyd, meet Corrine. He's Summon Spirit," she said to him, feeling unusually proud at her ability to summon.

"A Summon Spirit?" he exclaimed. "That can't be right. The Summon Spirits are located at the seals, and even if he was then that would make you a Summoner. But those arts were lost ages ago."

"Corrine's an artificial Summon Spirit. He was made in a lab. And technically, I'm a Guardian User, it just so happens that I can also Summon," she explained to him.

"That still doesn't explain how you can use arts that were lost a long time ago," he stated, slightly turning his head to look at her.

"Well, I'm not exactly from anywhere around here," she said, hoping to get around the mess she had gotten herself into.

"Then what brings you here to Iselia?" he questioned, respecting her wish to not elaborate further on her homeland.

"It's a long story, not one I wish to get into. At least, not right now anyway," she whispered, sounding almost ashamed.

"Then I won't pressure you," he said gently.

"Sheena, I sense a monster nearby, want me to go get rid of it?" asked Corrine.

"Yeah, go do that any time you sense one," she commanded.

"That's going to take some getting used to," said Lloyd as he watched the little spirit run off in the direction of whatever it was he sensed.

"Yeah, guess you've never seen anything like him before have you?" she asked laughingly. "hiss Remind me not to laugh, would you."

"Sure," he told her, nodding his head once. "And no, I can't say that I have. Are things like him normal where you come from?"

"First, Corrine's not a 'thing', he's my best friend," she told him curtly. "And no, he's completely unique."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," he apologized. "I just couldn't think of another way to word it."

"I'm sorry, too," she said, somewhat dejectedly. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. It's just, that happens a lot and it hurts his feelings."

"I understand," he told her. "If I were him, it would probably hurt my feelings, too…look were almost there."

"So that's the Martel Temple, huh," she said. "I thought it would be bigger."

"Is this where you were headed before that thing attacked you?" he asked calmly.

"Yeah, for the moment anyway," she replied. "Corrine said he could feel 'himself' in there; whatever that means."

"He could feel himself?" Lloyd repeated, looking back at Sheena once again. "Maybe he's not as artificial as you think," he offered, turning his attention back to their approaching destination.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked him, utterly confused.

"Well, I'd imagine that it would pretty hard to try and create something like a Summon Spirit. Maybe he all ready existed and was just, I don't know, reformed or something," he reasoned.

"You know, now that you mention it, it just doesn't seem possible to create _anything_, let alone something as complex as a Summon Spirit," she said, wondering why she had never thought of that before.

"You mean you've never thought about that before?" he questioned, unable to believe that she hadn't.

"No, I haven't," she answered, shaking her head. "He was just there, and he was my friend so I never questioned it. Friends aren't something I have an abundant supply of," she added, instinctively hugging herself closer to him.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked gently, slightly embarrassed by her closeness, though defiantly not uncomfortable from it.

"Forget it," she said. "It's not important."

"Well, I don't know what all's happened in your past, but I'd like to be your friend, too, if you'll let me," Lloyd said to her as he stopped in front of the stairs that lead to the temple, his voice warm and gentle.

"Do you really mean that?" she asked him, her voice hopeful at the thought of having another friend.

"If I didn't mean it, I wouldn't have said it," he told her, his voice still warm and gentle.

"Thank you," she whispered, wanting to hug him tightly, but afraid that it could cause further damage if she did. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

"Maybe not," he replied. "But now, we need to focus on getting you to the priests so they can check your wounds. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, just don't bounce too much," she told him, somewhat weakly.

"Here I go then," he said gently, as he began what was sure to be a slow climb up the steps.

After about five minutes of slow, cautious steps, they reached the top of the stairs and were greeted by Collette's grandmother, Phaidra.

"My heavens!" she exclaimed upon seeing Lloyd carrying the injured Sheena. "What on earth happened?"

"She was attacked by some giant demonic skeleton," he answered calmly. "As tall as it was, I'm surprised that you didn't see it from here."

"No, child, we've been awaiting your arrival," she stated, light anxiousness seeping into her voice. "What became of it?"

"We're not really sure," Sheena replied, drawing Phaidra's attention to her. "It just disappeared after Lloyd drilled through its skull."

"Drilled through its skull?" she repeated, not bothering to hide her shock at the brutality of his actions.

"It was the only way I could think of to dispose of it quickly," Lloyd stated in his defense.

"Even so…" she started, her voice chiding.

"I don't want to be rude, Phaidra," Lloyd interrupted. "But we think that that thing broke some of Sheena's ribs, can you check and be sure?"

"Of course," she agreed, temporarily setting aside her desire to chide the young man. "Bring her into the temple and we will see about checking her injuries."

"Oh, hey Sheena?" asked Lloyd as he followed Phaidra into the temple.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Where's Corrine?"

"Oh, he's probably back to wherever it is Summon Spirits stay when they're not needed," she answered. "Why?"

"Well, it's just that I figured that he would have met back up with us once we reached the temple, that's all," he replied, beating down his urge to shrug his shoulders.

"Bring her inside here Lloyd," said Phaidra, opening a hidden doorway at the other end of the entry room, ending Lloyd and Sheena's conversation.

Nodding wordlessly, Lloyd entered the room, which turned out to be a small infirmary.

"Set her on the bed," Phaidra told him from the doorway.

The bed, Lloyd noticed, was actually more of a raised cot, though he didn't comment on this. Walking over to it, he stopped when his legs were touching it and turned around. Slowly crouching down, Lloyd released his hold on Sheena when he felt that she was securely on the bed. Sheena, however, was slightly more hesitant to let go and held on for a couple of seconds more. Standing back up, Lloyd turned to look at Phaidra.

"What now?" he asked her, wondering if it would really be proper for him to be in the room with them.

"Go directly across from this door," she told him. "There is another door at that spot, inside you will find a priest who will inform you of your duties and responsibilities when the Oracle arrives."

"All right, thanks," he said before turning back to Sheena.

'Oh god…' she thought to herself, her face becoming pale. 'What am I going to do? Lloyd obviously knows the Chosen of Mana and I'm here to kill her!'

"Sheena, you okay?" he asked, concerned at the paleness of her face.

"Ye...yeah, I'm fine. Just a fresh wave of pain, that's all," she lied, hating that she had to. 'It's not like I have a choice in the matter," she thought bitterly. 'Everyone back home is counting on me.'

"Guess I'd better leave so you can get checked out then," he said, walking to the door. Stopping at Phaidra he continued. "Let me know what you find, if it's too bad I'll take you to see the Professor and she can use her healing arts on you, okay."

"Yeah, sure," she answered timidly. "I'll see you later then."

"Yeah," he agreed, nodding his head once before leaving the room and closing the door.

"Now dear, let's check those ribs of yours," stated Phaidra as she walked up to Sheena. "Please take off that robe."

Nodding her head once, Sheena undid her sash and let her robe fall off her arms.

"This may hurt a bit…Sheena, was it?" she asked, wanting to be sure she had heard correctly.

"Yeah, it's Sheena," Sheena replied. "And go ahead, this won't be the first time and it probably won't be the last."

"Very well," complied Phaidra before reaching out to check Sheena's ribs.

"_hiss_…that one's definitely broke," Sheena said as Phaidra checked her fourth rib on her injured side.

"Yes, it is," Phaidra agreed. "And it seems to be a nasty one at that. We'll definitely have to let Raine heal you. But don't worry; she should be here to check on Lloyd in a couple of hours."

"What is it he's doing…if you don't mind my asking," asked Sheena as she tried to ignore the pain in her side, curious as to how he would be involved in the Oracle.

"Hmm, well…I see no harm in it," stated Phaidra. "Lloyd will be guarding Collette as she goes through the trial to accept the Oracle. Therefore, he must become aware of the rules that must be followed, lest Collette be refused."

"So…the Chosen's name is Collette?" questioned Sheena curiously.

"That is correct," answered Phaidra. "My dear granddaughter is such a sweet child, and she's like a sister to Lloyd. Though I would have felt better if Kratos had been here to take Lloyd's place, Lloyd will guard her with his life," she continued, not knowing that she was only increasing Sheena's plight.

"Who…?" she asked, trying to not think about what she had gotten herself into.

"Oh, forgive me. Kratos is Lloyd's father. He is amazingly strong and taught Lloyd all that he knows about fighting," said Phaidra.

"Is there any reason why he can't guard her?" asked Sheena, hoping that she might be able to get out of having to possibly fight Lloyd.

"Perhaps, but only if the Oracle delays longer than expected. Kratos left with his wife, Lloyd's mother Anna, earlier today to visit a friend."

"Wait, if the Oracle is going to be appearing soon, shouldn't he have postponed his trip?" asked Sheena incredulously.

"He doesn't know that the Oracle will soon arrive. We didn't want him to be forced to delay his trip, so we didn't tell him," Phaidra said, understanding how what she had said could upset the young woman in front of her. "Enough of that though, tell me dear, how old are you?"

"Huh…oh, I'm nineteen, why?" answered, confused by the sudden question.

"You're the same age as Lloyd. You all grow up so fast. I can remember when he was nothing but a babe as if it were yesterday," she stated, becoming nostalgic. "Such a good boy, mischievous, but good nonetheless…oh, but I'm becoming nostalgic aren't I? I'm sure that you don't want to hear my ramblings."

"No, no…it's okay," Sheena said reassuringly. "I really don't mind. It's something to pass the time until this Raine person gets here."

"Well, if you're sure…" Phaidra started, waiting for Sheena's agreement before continuing. "Let me tell you about the time that he…"

Listening attentively to Phaidra's memories of Lloyd's childhood antics, Sheena was unable to stop the growth of the feelings of betrayal that she was feeling. The knowledge that she was going to have to assassinate the girl who was so much Lloyd's sister was beginning to eat her alive, from the inside out. And if she had to be perfectly honest with herself, she was almost positive that she would find that she would be unable to carry out her assignment.

…

Closing the door behind him, Lloyd walked over to other side of the room and quickly found the door that Phaidra had told him about. Rapping gently on the closed door, Lloyd waited until it opened.

"Ah, Lloyd," said the priest who opened the door. "I've been expecting you, please come in and we will get started. You have several things you need to learn and we may have only minimal time to cover them," he added as he stepped aside and motioned for Lloyd to sit in the chair on that side of the desk.

Nodding once, Lloyd walked in and took his place in the offered seat. He then watched the priest make his way back over to the seat opposite him and sit down, resting his elbows on the desk and his chin on his fists.

"Let's begin," the priest stated. "The first thing that you need to know is that excessive violence is prohibited. This is a temple, not a slaughter-house. The next thing you need to know is that though it will be your job to guard Collette, it is not your job to fight for her. The trial she will undergo is for her. You are merely support. The third thing…"

'I can feel it now,' Lloyd thought to himself. 'I'm going to be here for a while. Guess I better get situated and memorize these rules,' he continued, quickly storing each rule in his mind, though occasionally having to stop the priest and make him repeat one. 'Yep, definitely going to take a while.'

_Two hours later_…

As soon as her classes had ended for the day, Raine Sage had immediately set off for the temple to check up on Lloyd. Though she had no doubt that he would know everything he needed to know by the time the Oracle arrived, she also knew that Lloyd had some rather uncommon learning habits; ones that she was sure only Lloyd himself, his parents, and she knew about. Actually, if it had not been for the help of Anna, she was quite sure that she would never have found them. Though Lloyd Aurion was anything but dumb, his greatest talents most assuredly lay on the battlefield, and that showed in his learning style.

'I've never seen anyone treat so many things like they were battles,' she thought to herself as she neared the Martel Temple. 'Though I will admit that it does work quite well for him.'

Several minutes later, Raine found herself standing in front of the temple doors. Shoving aside her desire to thoroughly study it, she entered the temple and walked to the hidden door that Phaidra had shown her. Raising her hand to knock, she was more than surprised when the door suddenly opened.

"Whoa," Lloyd called out, not expecting to find someone on the other side of the door.

"I take it that you are finished?" Raine asked, quickly regaining her composure from the shock.

"Yeah, I am," he replied, still standing in the doorway.

"Would you mind closing the door Lloyd?" questioned the priest irritably. "These rooms are hidden for a reason you know."

"Wha…oh, right. Sorry about that," he said, apologizing as he left the room and closed the door.

"It seems as though my trip here was wasted," Raine stated calmly.

"Maybe not," Lloyd told her as he began walking to the other hidden room.

"And what, exactly, do you mean by that?" she asked, curious at why her presence in the temple might be required.

"Come on and you'll see," he answered as he opened the other door.

Her curiosity peaked by his mysterious words, Raine followed wordlessly and entered the room.

"Hey Sheena," greeted Lloyd as he made his way over to her. "How are your ribs?"

"Broken and painful," she replied dryly.

"Well now, is this what you meant Lloyd?" asked Raine, seemingly unconcerned by what she had just heard.

"Yeah, it was Professor. Do you think you could heal her?" he questioned, his voice slightly pleading for her to agree.

"_sigh_ I suppose," she answered with mock exasperation. "Please move away from her," she commanded, pulling out her Rod.

Watching as both Lloyd and Phaidra moved away from the woman in question, she walked over to her when they were both a suitable distance away.

"Lie down and relax," Raine said softly, watching as Sheena gingerly lay down on the cot.

Once Sheena was relaxed, Raine held her Rod over Sheena's chest and closed her eyes in concentration. Slowly, the top of the Rod began to glow a faint green. Then, after several seconds, the glow passed from her Rod down into Sheena's body, mending the damage that had been caused. About thirty seconds later, the glow subsided and Raine stepped back.

Sitting up, Sheena gently touched her ribs and found that they were completely healed. Smiling brightly, she looked up at the woman who had healed her and thanked her.

"Thanks, um…Raine?" she said, unsure if this was the woman that Phaidra had talked about.

"That's right," she replied, a small smile working its way onto her face. "And you're welcome. But how exactly were you injured?"

Casting a glance over at Lloyd, Sheena told Raine about how she had been attacked by the giant demonic skeleton and how she would most likely be dead if it weren't for Lloyd's surprise assault on the beast.

"Hmm…I wonder…" whispered Raine, bringing her left hand up to her chin.

"You wonder what?" Lloyd asked curiously.

"Nothing, never mind; I'll need to actually see it before I can make a conjecture as to what it might be," she told him, waving her hand as if trying to physically dismiss the subject. "And at any rate, it would probably be in our best interests for you to head on over to Dirk's. We'll need you back in Iselia shortly after dawn in preparation for the Oracle."

"If that the case, then wouldn't it just be better for me to stay at home?" Lloyd asked. "After all, it's not like I'm ten anymore."

"He makes a good point Raine," said Phaidra. "And besides that, since there is no inn in Iselia Sheena will need someplace to stay."

"Huh…oh, no, I'm perfectly capable of camping out," Sheena told them, embarrassed at Phaidra's suggestion. "Besides, I really don't want to be a bother to anyone."

"It's no bother Sheena," Lloyd said gently, somewhat embarrassed himself. "There's plenty of room, and not only that, I think it might rain tonight so it would be best if you stayed with someone."

"The question that this situation poses is… can the two of you behave yourselves without supervision?" Raine questioned, thoroughly enjoying their embarrassment at the suggestion.

"_Professor_!" "_Raine_!" shouted Lloyd and Sheena, both flushed a very nice shade of crimson.

"Do your reactions mean that there is something forming between the two of you?" she asked, continuing her assault on the two.

"We just met Professor!" Lloyd said indignantly. "How can there be anything between us?"

"Yeah, what he said," agreed Sheena.

"Calm down you two, I'm only teasing," she told them, laughing to herself. "I also think that it's a good idea."

"Well," Lloyd stated, turning to face Sheena. "Is that okay with you?"

"I… guess," she replied slowly. "If you're sure that my staying won't be bothersome."

"Haven't I all ready commented on that?" he asked playfully, his blush severely lightening.

"Yeah, you did," she replied, her voice lightly tinged with worry.

"Now that that has been settled, I will assume that our business here is concluded," Raine stated, returning to her usual indifference.

"I require nothing else, if Lloyd has finished what he came here for," commented Phaidra.

"Then I suppose that we will be on our way then…come along you two," commanded Raine, motioning for Lloyd and Sheena to follow her as she walked out of the room.

"Have a safe trip back," Phaidra said, watching as Lloyd and Sheena turned and waved goodbye.

"What a nice young woman," Phaidra said to herself. "Though I can't help but feel that she is hiding something," she added, hoping that whatever it was would not cause them any trouble.

…

"Finally," exclaimed Anna, as she and Kratos entered the Triet Ranch. "I swear, it takes longer to get here each time."

"That would be because the monsters grow more numerous with each year, Anna," Kratos told her.

"It is so odd," started Anna quietly.

"What is?" Kratos asked when she didn't elaborate.

"You would think that there would be _fewer_ monsters as the mana supply lessened, not more," she told him, curious as to why she had never thought of it before. "So why is the opposite true?"

"…You know, I'm afraid that I don't have an answer to that," he replied, completely at a loss for once.

"Maybe Mithos knows," she stated calmly.

"Perhaps," agreed Kratos. "But is it really necessary to know?"

"It doesn't bother you?" she asked incredulously.

"Not especially, no," he said, somewhat indifferently.

"I…" Anna started.

"Lord Kratos, and Lady Anna," interrupted Forcystus. "A pleasure to see you again."

"Likewise," returned Kratos.

"I shall inform Lord Yggdrasill that you are here," Forcystus told them, before turning on his heel and walking down the corridor.

"I _really_ do not like that man," seethed Anna, glaring at the spot the Grand Cardinal had occupied moments before.

"I can't quite say that I do either," Kratos stated, his voice harboring the lightest tinge of crossness. "But he is one of Mithos' Cardinals, so there is not much that we can do about him."

"That doesn't make me like him any more," she huffed, stepping into her husband's side so she could lean against him.

"I know, Anna," he whispered softly. "But we won't have to be around him for very long."

"Speaking of which, why is it taking them so long?" she asked curiously, raising her face to look at Kratos.

"Knowing Mithos, he is probably in the containment room with Martel so they will have to relay the message of our arrival," he explained.

"You're probably right," she replied, sighing with boredom as they waited to be transported to Derris Kharlan.

…

"I don't understand why Lord Yggdrasill allows those inferior humans such privileges," muttered Forcystus as he strode into the communications room. "I don't care _if_ Kratos was his companion from 4000 years ago. He is still noting but a retched human."

Walking over to the holo com-link, Forcystus opened the signal to Derris Kharlan. Almost immediately, he was confronted by the image of Pronyma.

"Tell Lord Yggdrasill that the humans are here," he said curtly, ignoring the rank difference between them.

"Watch your tongue Forcystus," she spat acidly. "One of those 'humans' is one of the four Seraphim."

"You act as if I do not know that Pronyma," he replied dryly. "I am well aware of Lord Kratos' position. But he is still nothing more that a miserable human."

"I will warn you Forcystus, never allow Lord Yggdrasill to here you utter those words. For if he does, I can guarantee that you will be wishing for death," she said calmly, before ending the transmission.

"You may be right Pronyma," he said to himself as he turned off the machine. "But that doesn't make me any less right," he added, before turning and leaving the room to attend to his duties as the head of the ranch.

…

'Where does Forcystus get off, speaking in such ways of Lord Kratos and Lady Anna?' she questioned herself as she strode to the containment room. 'If he wasn't such a powerful figurehead to half-elves I would report him to Lord Yggdrasill.'

Finally reaching her destination after several minutes, Pronyma disengaged the lock on the room and entered.

"Have Kratos and Anna arrived?" he asked, not even turning to look at her.

"They have, Lord Yggdrasill," she answered calmly. "Shall I have the meal prepared, or do you wish to wait?"

"Have them begin the meal, I'm sure that Anna and Kratos will be ready to eat by the time it is finished," he told her.

"Yes, Lord Yggdrasill," she said, bowing slightly even though his back was turned to her before making her way to the kitchen.

Raising his right arm up to chest level, Yggdrasill silently called the Eternal Sword to him.

"What does the pact-maker wish?" the sword asked upon its arrival.

"Please transport Kratos and Anna to me," requested Yggdrasill.

"It shall be done," it replied as it began to glow brightly.

Seconds later, the Eternal Sword was gone and both Kratos and Anna Aurion were standing only a few feet from Yggdrasill.

"Kratos, Anna," he greeted them warmly. "How have you been?"

Glaring lightly at the High Seraphim, Anna gave no answer to his question.

"Oh, of course; just a moment," he stated, as he shifted his body back into its original state. "There, is that better," he asked smiling.

"Much," Anna said smiling, before giving Mithos a warm hug. "And we're just fine," she added, answering his earlier question.

"That's good to know," he told them. "Oh, and before I forget, I wasn't sure if you would be hungry or not so there is a meal being prepared as we speak."

"Is there time for me to put away our things?" asked Kratos.

"There is, it probably won't be ready for at least a half-hour," answered Mithos, smiling up at his oldest friend.

"Then I'll take the opportunity to do just that, and leave the two of you talk about whatever it is you wish to talk about," Kratos said to them, kissing his wife's forehead before leaving to their designated room.

"So Anna, how is your son doing?" asked Mithos happily.

"Lloyd is doing just fine," she replied wistfully. "I honestly don't know why most mothers complain about their teenage sons. Lloyd has never been anything but good, albeit a little mischievous."

"Maybe he's just an exception to the normal," Mithos stated carefully, not wanting to make Anna angry.

"That just makes my little boy all the more special," she said joyfully.

"Oh," started Mithos. "I was wondering, has he shown any angelic traits?" he asked curiously.

"No, he hasn't," she answered, somewhat confusedly. "Should he be?"

"To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure," he told her. "Kratos is the first angel to have ever had a child, so none of us are really sure what to expect."

"Why haven't you ever asked about it before?" she questioned, going into full protective-mother mode.

"Well, I thought that if it had happened then you would have mentioned it," he answered quickly, taking an unconscious step backwards. "I guess my curiosity just got the better of me this time. That's all."

"Well, as long as that is all it is," she told him, sated by his answer.

"I promise, that's all," he continued.

"Good," she said, smiling warmly. "So has anything happened up here in the past year?"

"Not particularly, no," he said slightly shaking his head.

"Stop lying Mithos," she chided lightly. "You're about as good at it as Kratos and Lloyd are,"

"I'm not lying, honest," he responded unconvincingly.

"Mithos," Anna warned, glaring at the 4000 year old angel.

"All right, all right," he said, bowing his head and raising his hands in defeat. "There's a group of apparent insiders calling themselves the 'Renegades' that has been giving me trouble. I have no idea who's leading them or what there ultimate goal is but I do know that they have alerted Tethe'alla about Sylvarant and the Mana connection."

"_What_?" she exclaimed loudly. "Can they cross the barrier?" she asked worriedly, largely concerned for the safety of her 'daughter'.

"I'm afraid so," he said quietly. "And from what my sources tell me, an assassin has been sent to stop Collette."

"We have to warn them," she stated quickly, growing more and more anxious with each second.

"I've all ready sent forces out to take care of him/her," he told her gently, hoping to calm her down. "There's nothing for you to be worried about Anna."

"You have?" she questioned softly, watching as he nodded his head in affirmation. "Thank you," she said, relieved that the problem would be resolved without harm to Collette.

"Come on, let's go ahead and go to the dining hall. I'll send an angel to tell Kratos," he said, walking up to her.

"All right, let's go," she agreed, turning around and walking out of the room.

Walking down the long hallways to the teleportation pad that would send them to Welgaia they spoke very little, both of their minds being too preoccupied with their thoughts to converse properly. Anna's thoughts revolved mostly around her children while Mithos' thoughts were centered on the actions that could very well cost him his two dearest friends.

"You," Mithos commanded to the first angel they saw upon reaching Welgaia. "Go and tell Kratos that his wife and I will be waiting in the dining hall."

"Yes my lord," the angel responded emotionlessly, giving a low bow before setting off to fulfill his task.

Turning back to look at Anna, Mithos wordlessly asked if she was ready to continue. Seeing her nod her head once, they continued on their way coming to the dining hall several minutes later.

…

"Lord Kratos, Lord Yggdrasill sent me to inform you that he and Lady Anna will be waiting for you in the dining hall," said the angel upon reaching Kratos' room.

"Thank you," Kratos replied, looking up from their clothing. "But before you leave, when is the Oracle to be sent to Sylvarant's Chosen?"

"I am afraid I do not know, my lord," the angel told him. "But if you wish I will look into it."

"No, that won't be necessary," said Kratos, shaking his head. "You may leave."

"Yes my lord," the angel said, bowing and then leaving.

"Best to ask Mithos, I suppose," Kratos whispered as he turned his attention back to putting their clothes away.

_Twenty minutes later_…

"Ah, Kratos, there you are," said Mithos happily as Kratos entered the dining hall. "Dinner will be ready shortly."

"I was wondering Mithos, when will Remiel descend to the Martel Temple?" Kratos questioned curiously, moving to take his seat next to Anna.

"Barring any unforeseen difficulties, Remiel will be sent the day after you return to Iselia," Mithos lied. "I'm sure that you'll want to be there to protect her on her journey, correct?"

"Yes, both Anna and myself would fell better if I were with her, and I'm sure that Collette would welcome my presence as well," he said to the young man that he had trained so long ago.

"That doesn't just apply to us," added Anna, brushing off the nagging feeling in her mind as nothing but paranoia. "All of Iselia would rest easier with Kratos accompanying her."

"That's what I thought," Mithos told them. "Just try to keep her away from the Desians, especially Magnius and Kvar."

"I'll do what I can, but there's a large possibility that Collette will want to stop them, and if she gets that mind-set then there will be no stopping her," replied Kratos, sighing.

"I understand, and it's not like any of them are a match for you so there's not really much to worry about," Mithos said, grinning childishly.

"True, but I'd just as soon not have to fight the ranches as that could very well cause a mutiny," Kratos said to them, his voice firm and serious.

"Of course," agreed Mithos, nodding his head. "I'll send orders for them to keep to their ranches while the journey takes place."

"That would be appreciated," Kratos told him, offering him a small smile as he slid back in his chair.

"The meal is ready," said a voice from the door, stopping any further conversation.

All three of their heads turned to the direction the voice came from and watched as several angels brought the many different dishes in. Dishes ranging from roasted duck marinated with white wine, to an herbed tomato pasta salad, a walnut spice cake with lemon glaze, and many things in-between.

"This looks absolutely delicious," stated an obviously impressed Anna, who had not been expecting such a feast.

"It does, doesn't it," agreed Mithos as the angels who had brought the food in left. "Well, shall we?"

Needing no other incentive, the three began to fill their plates with the succulent food. Once their plates were either filled to their heart's content, they started eating and quickly found out that the food was every bit as good as it looked and smelled.

Forty-five minutes later all three of the hall's occupants were completely sated. Sitting in peaceful silence, it was only broken when Anna spoke.

"Kratos," she said weakly. "I'm suddenly feeling very tired, would you please take me to our room so I can lie down?"

"Of course," he told her gently. Standing from his seat, he had only taken one step towards his wife when he, too, was hit with a powerful wave of drowsiness.

"Kratos?" Mithos asked in fake alarm, getting up to help his friend. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not," Kratos told him, trying hard to fight off the sleepiness. "Someone must have… drugged… the… food…" was all he managed to get out before the drugs effects rendered him unconscious.

Looking over to Anna to see if she, too, had fallen under the effects of the sleep-inducing drug that had been intentionally placed in the food, he saw the she was indeed sleeping peacefully. Shifting his body back into his older form, he then pulled out a compact communicator and told Pronyma to send some angels in to take Kratos and Anna into the holding room. Receiving her affirmative response, Yggdrasill ended the transmission and looked back on the sleeping forms of his two best friends.

"I apologize for the measures I have been forced to take," he started sadly. "But my sister means the world to me and this is most likely the best chance that I will ever have to revive her. Please forgive me," he finished quietly, just in time to see two angels enter the room and approach the sleeping forms.

"Take them to the special holding chamber and be very careful with them," he told the angels sternly. "No harm is to come to either of them, am I clear?"

"Yes my lord," the two said simultaneously, bowing deeply and then gently lifting the still forms of Kratos and Anna Aurion. Once the two had sufficient hold on the unconscious humans, they left the dining hall and headed in the direction of the holding room.

Shortly after the angels left, Remiel entered the dining hall and spoke to Yggdrasill.

"Will everything be proceeding as planned, my lord?" asked the Angel of Judgment.

"Yes, you will leave for the Martel Temple in Sylvarant at noon tomorrow," he told the arrogant angel. "Now leave me, I have things that I must take care of."

"As you wish, Lord Yggdrasill," Remiel said with a bow before doing as he was told.

"Now all that remains is to make sure that Collette breaks the seals and reaches the Tower of Salvation," Yggdrasill said, speaking his thoughts aloud. "Soon Martel, very soon," he added quietly as he left the dining hall to make sure that the Desians would not over step their boundaries and kill his Chosen.

* * *

A/N: Whew, finally done. And on the 21st page. This was definitely longer than I expected, and Genis didn't get slapped. Oh well, can't have everything. Anyway, there are some things I need to point out. First, yes, that was the Sword Dancer that Lloyd dispatched. Please note that it was also a new encounter and it will still be in all three original locals. Having said that, it is obvious that I plan on including some side-quests. The Sword Dancer being the most prominent one in my mind at this moment. Also, please note that that 'romance-ie' part right after the victory is nothing but heavy foreshadowing. I plan to start the actual relationship somewhere Volt-ish.

As of right now, I also have no intention of having Sheena try to assassinate Collette, but if enough people bug me about it, I might change my mind. _Might_, being the key word there. Either way, Lloyd will learn about Tethe'alla considerably earlier than everyone else. That will _not_ change. Sheena trusts him and will tell him, and only him. Thanks for reading and please review.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Finally, my insanely bad case writer's block is at an end! I can now continue work on this fic. I apologize for the delay, but it was ridiculously difficult for me to get parts of this down in words. Enjoy!

* * *

"So Sheena, tell me, where exactly is it that you are from," Raine asked as the three exited from the temple.

"Oh, ummm…I'm from a small village a good ways to the east," she replied, hoping neither of her companions would pick up on her nervousness. "Why do you want to know?"

"It's the clothes that you are wearing," Raine told her. "I've never seen anyone dressed in a style similar to them."

"Now that you mention it Professor, neither have I," stated Lloyd. "But then again, it's not like I'm well traveled or anything," he added, rubbing the back of his neck.

'Whew…neither of them noticed,' Sheena thought to herself. 'But, it's not like I'm completely lying. Mizuho is to the east of here, geographically speaking.'

"That's going to change as soon as Collette's journey begins," Raine told him.

"Yeah, it will," agreed Lloyd. "Hopefully Dad will be back by then though, cause honestly, I wouldn't have a clue where to go first."

'They just had to remind me about that, didn't they,' Sheena thought sadly. 'What am I going to do? If I don't kill the Chosen, then my homeland will be destroyed. But then, if I do, I'll be hurting Lloyd and dooming this world. I'm so confused.'

"That is why I will be accompanying Collette on her journey," stated Raine.

"That certainly is comforting…" started Lloyd, before noticing Sheena's sad expression. "Is there something wrong Sheena? You look kind of sad."

"Huh? Oh, no," she replied quietly. "I guess I'm just a little homesick, that's all."

"Yeah, I bet so," he said to her. "I can't even begin to imagine what it will be like when Collette begins her journey. We probably won't be back in Iselia for several months."

"Sucks to be you then," she joked, sticking out her tongue at him.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, his voice full of mock hurt.

"Children," muttered Raine disapprovingly, though she had a small smile on her face.

The remainder of the trip back to Iselia consisted mostly of small chit-chat, and the occasional monster attack. They arrived back at the northern gate of the small town about ten minutes later, where Lloyd and Sheena parted ways with Raine.

"See you later Professor Sage," Lloyd said as he began to lead Sheena to his parent's home.

"Yes, I suppose we will Lloyd," she replied calmly. "Oh, and by the way, would you like to join Genis and I for dinner this evening?"

"Are you going to be cooking?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am," she stated innocently.

"I'd love to Professor, but by the time I get back from going to tell Dirk about the change in plans, it'll probably be pretty late and I'll want to get to bed," he told her quickly, hoping that she wouldn't insist on them coming anyways. "So…maybe next time?"

"I understand," she replied gently, before her voice hardened. "But I'll hold you to that next time," she added, turning and walking off when she finished her sentence.

"Looking forward to it…" he said cheerfully, making sure to keep up his happy demeanor until she has walked out of site.

Sheena, slightly confused by the exchange she just witnessed, watched as Lloyd's expression fell as soon as Raine was out of site.

"Well Sheena," Lloyd began, looking for all the world like he had just been sentenced to certain death. "It's been a pleasure knowing you, even if it was just for a short time."

"What do you mean?" she asked, even more confused now then she was before. "Her cooking can't be that bad? Can it?"

"The last time I ate her cooking, I was quarantined to my room for over a week, because I was that sick," he told her, with no traces of humor in his eyes or voice.

"You can't be serious," she replied, not wanting to believe his words.

"I am," he said, completely serious. "I thought that mom was going go kill the Professor more than once while I was sick. Thing is, if it hadn't been for my dad stopping her, she probably would have."

"You're being serious aren't you?" she asked skeptically.

"Completely," he told her.

"Then why don't you just say no to her?" she questioned, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Are you nuts?" Lloyd exclaimed/asked. "If I did that then she'd beat the crap out of me."

"She's that strong?" Sheena asked, bewildered.

"Let me put it this way, the Professor is one of the two people in this world that I'm really afraid of," he said to her as he started walking to his house.

"Who's the other?" she asked curiously.

"My mom," he replied, before quickly adding, "But only when she's angry."

"I see," she said. "I'll bet that means that you're a momma's boy aren't you," she teased, grinning widely.

"So what if I am?" he asked indignantly. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, there's nothing wrong with it," she said giggling lightly.

"Then why are you giggling?" he questioned, somewhat angrily.

Noticing his angry tone, Sheena quickly stopped laughing and apologized.

"Sorry if I hurt your feelings, Lloyd," she said quietly. "It's just that you don't often hear guys try to hide that fact, let alone admit it to someone."

"No, I'm the one who should be apologizing Sheena," he said somberly. "I had no reason to get upset with you."

"Then how about we both apologize and forget about it?" she offered.

"Deal," he agreed, smiling happily as they reached his home.

"Well, this is it," he said as he stepped up to the door, "Home sweet home."

"Wow," she said, looking up at the size of it and then turning around and looking at the much smaller houses in the quaint town. "It's so much bigger than most of the other houses."

"Yeah, well, dad isn't exactly poor or anything," he replied, raising a hand to scratch the back of his head.

"That's obvious," she chided mockingly, and then laughed as he began to blush.

"Well, come on in Sheena and I'll show you around before I have to leave," he told her, opening the door and motioning for her to enter first.

"Thanks," she said, entering the house in front of Lloyd and immediately admiring the beautiful décor.

"Nice, isn't it?" asked Lloyd, coming to a stop beside her and watching as her eyes surveyed the foyer.

"Yeah, it really is," she replied as she began to move around and get a closer view of the intricately designed decorations which ranged from tables, to flower-filled vases, to sculptures of various things.

"I just can't believe how detailed these are," she said in wonder, gently trailing a finger across the floral patterns on one of the tables. "Who made these?" she questioned, turning to look at Lloyd.

"Well, at lot of it was made by a dwarf named Dirk, the guy I've got to go see shortly," he answered, smiling at her.

"Then who made the rest of it?" she asked curiously.

"I did," he replied, somewhat embarrassedly. "Dirk's been teaching me how to craft things for years now. And while I'm no dwarf, I've gotten pretty good at making things," he told her, answering her next question before she could ask it.

"You made this stuff?" she exclaimed/asked, making no attempt to hide her shock.

"Yeah, is it really that surprising?" he asked her, slightly hurt by her disbelief.

"I…I don't really…I just never got the impression that you would be very good at stuff like this," she explained, embarrassed that she hadn't been able to stop herself from saying that. "And couple that with the fact that I've never seen a human that could make stuff like this before…"

"Well, I guess it's understandable when you put it like that," he replied, scratching the back of his head. "Anyway, c'mon, I believe I promised you a tour of the place," he told her, changing the subject.

"Ah, right. Well, lead on," she said, motioning for him to go on ahead of her.

"Well, as you can probably tell, this room here is the foyer and if you look down at the end of it, you'll notice two doorways and the stairs that lead up to second floor where the bedrooms are. First though, the door to our left leads into the den, and the door to the right goes into the dining room…"

"C'mon, hurry up, they're going to catch us if we don't," said a man dressed in a dirty, white outfit as he and his companions ran through a large forest.

"We know that, but we're all so tired," replied a young woman, dressed in the same dirty outfit.

"Do you want to go back to that hell-hole?" asked another man.

"Of coarse we don't!" exclaimed the young woman. "But we need to rest or we'll collapse form exhaustion and they'll catch us anyways."

"She makes a very good point," said an older woman with long, graying hair. "We must find a place to hide and catch our breaths."

"Fine," the first man relented, looking around for a suitable hiding place as he ran.

"How about those bushes?" asked the second man, pointing ahead and to the right at a rather large brush pile.

"That's perfect," was his reply as the group headed towards it.

One by one, the ragged group ran into the brush and collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily.

Their respite, however, was short lived as the group soon heard the voices of their pursers closing in on them.

"Those humans have to be around here somewhere," said one of the Desians.

"Yeah, they couldn't have gotten too far!" agreed another one.

"Spread out and search the area," ordered a third Desian. "We can't let those inferior beings escape. Or else Lord Forcystus will have our heads."

"Yes sir," replied the other Desians before each one went off in a separate direction, leaving the leader in the area where they had hidden.

"Oh no, they'll find us for sure," whispered one of the humans.

"We have to make another run for it," whispered another.

"He's right," the first man said quietly. "We'll go on the count of three; One...two…_three_."

As soon as the man said three, the group of humans jumped up and once again began running.

"They're over here!" shouted the Desian leader, chasing after the humans.

"Hurry!" shouted the first man as they continued to run for their lives.

"Well, that concludes the tour," Lloyd said as he and Sheena walked back down the steps and into the foyer.

"I can't believe how much bigger it is on the inside, and it's huge on the outside," she stated, amazed by the size of the house Lloyd had grown up in.

"Yeah, our house is pretty big, but it's really convenient having all this space," he told her, stepping towards the front door.

"I bet it is," she replied, coming to a stop between the doorways to the den and dining area. "I guess you're going to go see that Dirk guy now?"

"Yeah, I really need to do that before it gets too dark," he stated, opening the door. "So just make yourself at home and I'll be back in a couple of hours, okay?"

"Sure," she said, nodding her head once. "Later!"

"Yep," he replied, before stepping outside and closing the door.

As soon as the door shut, Sheena's face fell and thoughts of her mission and the consequences it would leave assaulted her mind.

"What am I going to do?" she asked quietly, walking into the den and settling down on the couch that stood in the center of the room. "If I don't kill Sylvarant's Chosen then Tethe'alla will go into decline. But if I do kill her, then Lloyd will lose his 'sister' and I'll lose my only real friend other than Corrine."

"Why don't you talk to Lloyd about it?" asked Corrine as he entered the room in his usual puff of smoke.

"What!" Sheena exclaimed. "I can't do that. There's no telling what he might do if I told him why I was here."

"You really think so?" Corrine asked innocently. "I don't think he would. Not if you told him everything. I think he'd understand. And who knows, maybe there's a way to save both worlds."

"Do you really think so Corrine?" Sheena questioned, uncertainty filling her voice.

"I really do," the small Summon Spirit replied happily.

"But what if there isn't a way to save both worlds? I don't think I'd be able to return to Tethe'alla knowing that I could have stopped the decline, but I didn't," she said, pulling her legs up to her chest and hugging them.

"Don't think that way Sheena," encouraged Corrine. "You have to think positive. There just has to be a way for both worlds to co-exist without the constant battle for mana."

"All right Corrine, say you're right and there is a way to save both worlds," Sheena began, lowering her legs back down. "How are we going to find it? I mean, I wouldn't even begin to know where to look for something like that."

"Hmmm...That's a good question Sheena," replied Corrine as he lowered his head in thought. "Why don't you try asking the other Summon Spirits? They can't all be as mean as Volt was, can they?"

At the mention of Volt, Sheena paled and the horrible memories of the failed pact and subsequent deaths of her fellow villagers played through her mind.

"I...I...I don't...what if...," Sheena stuttered, doubts and insecurities filling her being.

"Stop it Sheena!" commanded Corrine harshly before becoming kind and gentle once more. "You can't let the past rule your life. If you do, then you'll never be able to move forward. And just because Volt did what he did, that doesn't automatically mean that all of the other Summon Spirits will do the same thing. In fact, I'm willing to bet that some of them will be really nice."

Shocked out of her memory induced doubt by Corrine's angry command, Sheena's now clear mind saw the truth that Corrine's words held. 'Can I really base the personalities of all of the Summon Spirits on Volt's actions alone?' she asked herself. 'No, I can't! Corrine is the proof of that.'

"You're right again Corrine," Sheena said smiling happily. "I just can't let Volt's actions, horrible as they were, control my ideas on what the other Summon Spirits will be like. You're the living proof of that."

"Don't you feel so much better now Sheena?" asked Corrine excitedly.

"Yeah, I guess I do, a little bit. Though I'm still worried about what kind of reaction I'm going to get from Lloyd," she replied honestly.

"You're worrying yourself over nothing Sheena, you'll see," Corrine said, hopping up on the couch with Sheena and laying down beside her.

"I hope you're right about this too, Corrine," she whispered worriedly, bringing her hand down to scratch behind Corrine's ears.

"I will be, just you wait," he said, sighing contentedly and thoroughly enjoying Sheena's attention.

"Man, if I don't hurry it up it's going to be dark by the time I get back to Iselia," Lloyd said out loud, looking around the all ready darkening forest. Quickening his pace, Lloyd began jogging along the trail that had been cut out of the trees.

"And what's up with Sheena anyways?" he asked himself. "It's like she's got something she wants to say, but she's afraid to say it. I'll have to ask her about it when I get back," he said, continuing his trip to Dirk's. However, even jogging, it still took him almost forty-five minutes to reach his destination.

Coming to a stop on the bridge that rested above the large stream, Lloyd placed his hands on his knees and took several moments to catch his breath before straightening and walking up to the doorway to Dirk's cabin. Raising his hand and knocking twice, Lloyd entered.

"Hey Dirk, how've you been?" Lloyd asked as he closed the door behind him.

"A've been doin' jus' fine Lloyd. How about yourself?" greeted Dirk cheerfully.

"I haven't been too bad," Lloyd replied. "Though to tell you the truth, I wish Mom and Dad hadn't picked this week to go wherever it is that they go to."

"Really? And why would you be wishin' that?" Dirk asked curiously.

"Phaidra and the Professor are expecting the Oracle anytime now. And it would have been a lot more reassuring to have Dad here to help guard Collette," answered Lloyd casually.

"I see," Dirk said to him. "Well, if that's the case, might'n it be better if you were to stay in Iselia?"

"That's kind of why I'm here," Lloyd told him, scratching the back of his head. "I wanted to let you know that that's what I'm going to be doing."

"Well, you've done so, so you might want to think about headin' back that way before the sun sets," advised Dirk.

"Yeah, no kidding," agreed Lloyd, heading back to the door and opening it. "Well, I guess I'll see you later."

"Make sure that you come to see me before you and Collette leave for the journey of Regeneration. I'll have some things that you might find useful ready," Dirk said to him.

"We will Dirk, see ya," Lloyd said, waving goodbye as he left.

"G'bye," Dirk said quietly, before turning and opening his storage closet. "Now, what did I do with that map?" he asked himself as he began throwing things around.

'Phew, looks like I'll still have plenty of sunlight to make it back to Iselia after all,' Lloyd thought to himself as he jogged through the forest surrounding Dirk's house. 'If I don't get attacked by a plethora of monsters, that is,' he added when huge Spiders dropped from the trees around him.

Quickening his pace into an all-out run, Lloyd attacked the first Spider head-on by slicing apart the monster's head while drawing his blades. Skidding to a stop after finishing the first Spider, Lloyd spun on his heel to face the other two. Quickly adopting a defensive stance, Lloyd used the sword in his left hand to catch the web attack the second Spider spit at him. Not wasting the opportunity that he had been given, Lloyd delivered a strong Sonic Thrust into the second Spider's skull, killing it instantly. Swiftly removing his sword from the dead Spider's skull, he was forced to roll to the side when the final Spider attempted to skewer him with its razor-sharp claws. No sooner than Lloyd had bounced back onto his feet, he once-again found himself dodging the Spider's claws. This time, however, Lloyd twisted to his right completely evading the deadly claws as well as placing him at the beast's vulnerable side and he attacked. Lloyd's Sword Rain tore into the Spider's side, and when the fifth hit in his attack connected the Spider was split completely in half.

"Heh heh...too easy," chuckled Lloyd as he cleaned off his blades with a rag he had pulled from his pocket. "But, man...am I glad that I didn't have to fight one of those Rabbits. I _hate_ those things," he added, sheathing his swords and jogging off once again in the direction of Iselia.

"Well, well...looks like you're the last one," stated the Desian warrior as he closed in on the exhausted old woman before him.

"You lot gave us a lot of trouble with your little escape attempt," said a second Desian, pulling the woman up off the ground where she had collapsed. "Lord Forcystus is not pleased at all. In fact, you'll be lucky if he doesn't kill the lot of you when we get you back to him."

"Please...I don't want to go back to that place," the old woman begged, her voice weak and tired.

"Yeah, well I'm afraid that you don't get a choice in that," shouted the first Desian as he reared back his whip.

Tightly closing her eyes, the old woman could do little more than wait for the whipping she knew she was about to receive. But when the whipping had not come seconds later, she opened her eyes. The sight that greeted her gave her back a little hope that she wouldn't be forced to return to the ranch.

"Why don't you try picking on someone your own size?" asked Lloyd, his voice filled with cold anger as he tightly gripped the Desian's whip in his left hand.

"Why you little punk," shouted the now enraged Desian as he turned completely around and charged at Lloyd.

Stepping to the side, Lloyd easily evaded the Desian's angry charge. Once the Desian was past him, Lloyd yanked harshly on the whip in his hand, which overbalanced the Desian sending him sailing to the ground. Letting go of the Desian's whip, Lloyd drew both of his blades. Almost instantly, the blade in his right hand smashed the ground only inches from the body of the Desian.

"Fierce Demon Fang!" exclaimed Lloyd, his attack creating a large, short-range shockwave that slammed into the Desian sending him sailing into a large boulder and knocking him out.

"Unless you want to end up like your friend there, I suggest you let her go," said Lloyd as he settled into an offensive stance once he was facing the other Desian.

"Just you wait you little brat," replied the other Desian as he released his hold on the old woman and ran over to his comrade. "Once Lord Forcystus hears about this, you'll be dead meat."

"I'm so scared I'm shaking," Lloyd deadpanned, sarcasm clearly ringing in his words.

"We'll see if you can keep up that act once Lord Forcystus is through with you," stated the Desian as he lifted his fallen comrade onto his shoulder and ran off.

Once the Desian was out of sight, Lloyd raised himself out of his fighting stance and sheathed his swords. Then, he turned to check on the old woman he had just saved.

"You okay?" he asked, kneeling down to help her get back onto her feet.

"I am now, thanks to you young man," she replied happily as he helped her stand up. "Thank you very much."

"Don't mention it," he said, smiling warmly. But his expression became serious when he saw something glint on the back of her left hand. "Is that an ex-sphere?" he asked, turning completely serious.

"You mean this?" the old woman questioned, lifting her left hand so that they could better see the object. "I'm afraid that I don't know what it is. It was placed onto me when I was brought into the Triet Human Ranch."

"That's definitely an ex-sphere," replied Lloyd. "And you don't have it inserted into a key crest."

"Is that a problem?" she asked, growing concerned.

"Yes, it is," answered Lloyd. "When an ex-sphere is attached to someone without a key crest, it becomes unstable and difficult to remove. But don't worry too much about it. I can get a friend of mine to make you a key crest tomorrow, so just don't try to take it off okay."

"Of course," she said, relieved that nothing would happen to her after all. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I've forgotten to tell you my name. I'm Marble."

"I'm Lloyd Aurion," replied Lloyd, once again smiling. "It's a pleasure to meet you Marble."

"And it's a pleasure to meet you as well Lloyd," stated Marble warmly. "But I'm afraid it's going to be dark soon. Do you know of anyplace that I can stay for the night?"

"Of course I do," answered Lloyd. "There's more than enough room at my house. But we should probably get moving if we're going to make it before nightfall."

"I agree," replied Marble.

"All right then, follow me," said Lloyd as he started walking in the direction of Iselia.

Not wanting to overtax the obviously tired Marble, Lloyd set a pace that he hoped wasn't to fast while still going quickly enough to make it back into the town with some light left outside. Also, do the increase in the number of monsters over recent years Lloyd was unable to keep an eye on Marble, having to stay constantly on guard in case they were attacked. So, when Marble collapsed some minutes later it took Lloyd almost completely by surprise.

"Marble!" exclaimed Lloyd as he spun around and ran to where she lay.

When he didn't get a reply from her, Lloyd quickly checked for a pulse. He became increasingly more worried when he found that he could barely feel it. 'Damn, of all the times for me to not have any healing items on me,' he scolded himself. 'I've got to get her to Professor Raine.'

"I hope you can hear me Marble," said Lloyd as he gently, but swiftly lifted her onto his back. "I'm going to take you to someone who can help you, just hang in there," he continued, holding her arms around his neck to make sure that she didn't fall as he began running as fast as safely possible.

"Hey sis, dinner's almost ready," came Genis' voice, shaking Raine from her reverie.

"Huh...oh, all right Genis, I'll be there shortly," replied Raine as she looked back down at the book in front of her.

'I don't like this at all,' Raine thought to herself as she continued reading from the book on otherworldly creatures. 'From the description that I received from Lloyd and Sheena, that monster that they encountered could very well be the end result of an elite from the Underworld.'

"But if that's so, then how on Sylvarant was Lloyd able to defeat it so easily?" she asked out loud, leaning back in her chair. 'The only explanation is that the creature was not at its full strength. In fact what the two of them fought was likely only a small fraction of its true capabilities.'

"Hopefully, that will be the last that either them or anyone else sees of it," she stated, talking out loud again. 'Otherwise, they may not be able to survive.'

"It's ready Raine," said Genis from inside the kitchen.

"I suppose I'll have to continue my search later," Raine said to herself, standing from her chair and entering the kitchen. "Mmm...It smells wonderful Genis, even though it was my night to cook," she added as she seated herself at the small table.

"Speaking of which...why didn't you cook?" Genis asked carefully, knowing that if he didn't he could end up sporting a bump on the head...courtesy of his sister's hand.

"I suppose that I became preoccupied with what I was researching," Raine answered, before taking a bite of Genis' cream stew.

"What was it that you were looking up?" Genis asked curiously.

"It's nothing for you to worry about, just an unusual creature that Lloyd saw on his way to the temple," answered Raine gently, not wanting to upset him.

"Oh, okay," replied Genis as he began eating as well.

Both Genis and Raine had just finished eating and Raine was just about to wash the dishes when Lloyd burst through their door with Marble still unconscious on his back.

"Professor!" he exclaimed. "You have to help Marble, she's unconscious and I can just barely make out her pulse."

"Take her and lie her down on one of the beds," Raine commanded after dropping the dishes that she held. "I'll be in there in a moment."

"Okay," replied Lloyd as he swiftly walked into the room that contained Raine and Genis' beds.

Once Lloyd reached the first bed, he laid Marble down onto it as gently as possible. When Marble was completely supported by the bed, Lloyd brought his fingers back to her neck. He found that though slightly stronger, her pulse was still very weak. Seconds later Raine entered the room, followed by Genis.

"Move," Raine told him, watching as Lloyd quickly moved back out of her way. Kneeling down beside the bed, Raine closed her eyes and concentrated for several seconds.

"Her body is completely exhausted," Raine said when she opened her eyes.

"Can you heal her?" asked Lloyd, concerned for Marble's safety.

"I can, yes," replied Raine. "But not completely."

"What do you mean 'not completely', sis?" asked Genis curiously.

"I will explain once I stabilize her," answered Raine.

Raising her Rod so that it came to rest about one foot from Marble's body, Raine closed her eyes and concentrated on bringing out her healing magics. Soon enough, a familiar glow began to seep from Raine's body, and only a second passed before the glow traveled through her Rod. For several moments the glow remained in Raine's Rod, seemingly condensing and strengthening itself before it finally left and entered Marble's prone form. It took only a matter of four to five seconds for Raine's healing arts to be completely absorbed into Marble and the glow to disappear, signifying that the healing was done.

Stepping back up to where Marble lay, Lloyd reached out and again pressed his fingers into the side Marble's neck. Finding a much stronger, much more normal pulse Lloyd let out a sigh of relief and stepped back away from the bed.

"So sis, why wouldn't you heal her completely for," questioned Genis as he watched Raine stand up.

"Not here," Raine stated softly. "Let's go into the kitchen, she needs to sleep now," Raine continued, motioning for the two boys to leave the room.

Nodding their heads in agreement, Lloyd and Genis quietly left the bedroom and seated themselves at the kitchen table.

Gently closing the door to the bedroom, Raine followed the boy's lead and took her seat at the table.

"Exhaustion is a difficult ailment to heal properly," she began, not waiting for Genis to ask the question a third time. "I suppose that it is comparable to when the body heats and cools rapidly. As you well know from experience Lloyd, the effects of that are not pleasant."

"No kidding," replied Lloyd, shuddering at the memories from when that had happened to him. "I've never felt worse in my entire life."

"Makes sense, now that I think about it," Genis said to himself.

"Sure does," agreed Lloyd, leaning back in his chair. "Problem is, how am I supposed to get her back home without waking her?" Lloyd asked.

"You don't," answered Raine simply. "I want her to stay here so that I can keep an eye on her, just in case."

"But you don't really have the room Professor," Lloyd said to her.

"I'm perfectly capable of setting up a cot on the floor, I'll have you know," Raine told him, glaring slightly. "Besides, I still have quite a bit of preparation for the Journey of Regeneration, so it isn't likely that I'd be getting a lot of sleep anyways."

"Well, if you say so Professor," conceded Lloyd, sliding back from Raine's glare. "Guess that means that I should head back home then, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does," the Professor said to him. "Especially considering that you have another guest to look after."

"Hehehehe," Lloyd laughed embarrassedly, rubbing the back of his head. "Man, I got so caught up in helping Marble that I almost forgot about Sheena. Guess I better had get back then," he continued, standing up from his chair. "I'll see you guys tomorrow then."

"Make sure that you are up early in the morning Lloyd," Raine said to him as he walked to the door. "We have no idea when the oracle will appear, if it appears at all."

"Don't worry Professor," assured Lloyd, turning back to face her when he reached the door. "I'll be ready, count on it."

"Well then, good night Lloyd," Raine said, smiling lightly.

"Night Lloyd, see you later," added Genis.

"Night guys," Lloyd stated as he opened the door and exited their home.

"Darn it," exclaimed Genis, several moments after Lloyd's departure.

"What is it Genis?" questioned Raine, surprised by her brother's outcry.

"We forgot to ask Lloyd how he met Marble and why she was so exhausted," answered Genis.

"I'm afraid I all ready know the answer to that Genis," replied Raine sadly.

"What do you mean sis?" asked Genis, noticing her sad tone.

"Her clothing, along with the ex-sphere on her hand indicates that she was a prisoner of a Human Ranch, most likely the one near Triet," explained Raine. "I assume that she managed to escape the Ranch and was traveling in this direction when Lloyd happened upon her. I just hope that there weren't any Desians that saw him, or else Iselia might be in a good deal of trouble."

"Oh," was the only reply Genis could give.

"It's gotten pretty dark outside Corrine," stated Sheena as she looked out one of the windows in the den. "I hope Lloyd gets back soon," she continued, worry beginning to creep into her voice.

"As I recall Sheena, the monsters around this area were really weak," said Corrine. "I think you're getting worried for nothing. In fact, I bet he walks through the front door any minute now."

"Why do you say that Corrine?" asked Sheena, staring down at her friend in confusion.

"Just call it a hunch," Corrine replied happily.

"You know Corrine," began Sheena. "Sometimes you're really weird," she continued, smiling in amusement.

"Isn't everyone occasionally weird?" questioned Corrine.

"Well, I certainly can't disagree with you," she answered, laughing lightly.

A few seconds later, both Sheena and Corrine heard the front door open and close. Glancing at each other, the two walked out of the den and back into the foyer.

"Hey Sheena, Corrine," greeted Lloyd as they stepped into the foyer. "I'm back."

"Of course you are," replied Corrine cheekily. "Otherwise we wouldn't be able to see you."

"Ha ha, very funny," Lloyd said to the Summon Spirit, sarcasm filling his voice.

"How was your trip?" Sheena asked, changing the subject.

"It wasn't too bad," Lloyd told her. "Though I could have done without having to fight those Spiders and Desians."

"Desians! Are you okay?" asked Sheena concernedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured. "There were only two of them, and I only had to fight one, and he was a pushover."

"Glad you're okay," she said, smiling warmly.

"Me too," he stated, smiling back at her. "By the way Sheena, is there something bothering you?"

"Wh-what do you mean?" she asked nervously, her smile leaving her face.

"Well, earlier today it seemed like there was something wrong with you, but you were trying to hide it," he explained. "And...Even though I know we haven't known each other for very long, I want you to know that if there's something bothering you that I can help with I'll be more than happy to do so."

"See Sheena," said Corrine, looking up at the Summoner. "You should tell him."

"Tell me what?" questioned Lloyd gently.

"Can...Can I trust you Lloyd?" Sheena whispered quietly, dropping her gaze to the floor.

"Of course you can Sheena, I'm your friend," responded Lloyd, with no hesitation.

"Then I will," Sheena said softly, lifting her eyes back to Lloyd's. "But... can we sit down first?"

"Sure, we can sit wherever you want," Lloyd told her.

Nodding once, Sheena slowly turned and walked back into the den, followed closely by Corrine and Lloyd. 'I can't believe that I'm about to do this,' Sheena thought to herself. 'I hope he reacts like Corrine said he will and not get upset. I don't know what I'd do if he did. But it's too late for that now; I just have to hope for the best.'

'You don't have to be scared Sheena,' Corrine said to himself. 'I know that Lloyd will understand, and try to help us find a way to save Tethe'alla without killing this side's Chosen.'

'I don't know what has you so worried Sheena,' Lloyd said in his mind. 'But I can promise you that you don't need to be worried or scared. If you have a problem, I promise that I'll do everything in my power to help you through it,' he vowed, brining his thoughts to a close as he seated himself on the sofa beside Sheena and turning to face her.

"Well, here I go," Sheena whispered, so softly that only she could hear as she turned to face Lloyd. "Lloyd..."

* * *

A/N: I know, I know...This chapter wasn't all that good. Or at least, I don't think it was. And I apologize for the cliffhanger but it just didn't seem appropriate for Sheena to tell Lloyd about Tethe'alla in this chapter. Don't know why, but it didn't. So expect that first thing next chapter. And no, I haven't forgotten about Kratos and Anna. There just isn't a lot to say when their still unconscious. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon, just please be patient with me. I promise this will not be abandoned, no matter how long it takes for me finish it. 


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